One Size Doesn't Fit All

Individualizing Track Workouts Within a Group

"Tonight, we'll start with six by 400, then close with four 200s." It's the type of announcement you'll hear each week at hundreds of club track workouts throughout the country. The workouts may vary, but the concept doesn't: It's a group workout and everyone will be doing the same thing.

We all know that's not the perfect way to train; runners differ and so do their ideal workouts. We band together, though, because solo speed workouts are tough. Personally, I love the camaraderie of the track so much that if I had to choose between perfect workouts and a congenial group, I'd probably choose the group.

But that doesn't mean workouts can't have some flexibility.

With 300 members, my club can draw as many as 40 to any given track workout. We're a varied lot. There are high-mileage marathoners, 5K road racers, cross country runners, and people training for masters track. Some are peaking for upcoming races, others just beginning to build up. Paces vary, too. We have age-group champions, former collegiate stars, and even 10-minute milers.

The diversity makes it hard to design workouts. When I was first asked to coach the group, there seemed to be only two choices: run a program aimed at whatever segment of the group I chose to favor, or punt, with workouts that had something for everyone but not a lot for anyone.

Every club coach faces the same dilemma. How to provide structurally sound workouts that give everyone what they need, rather than forcing them into the same mold? How to keep the whole thing fun and interesting? Beginners are easily intimidated by repetitive workouts, like 5 x 1,000m or 12 x 400m. Mile repeats are also a problem because many people think the average runner shouldn't do repeats much longer than 5 or 6 minutes. That means miles are too tough for the slower people.

The obvious solution is to divide the group. But starting a workout by saying, "If you're faster than X, do this; if not do that," makes the slower runners feel like second-class citizens. Even marathoners and 5K runners tend to want to do the same workout. Companionship, after all, is the reason they sought out a group.

Luckily, training theory provides a solution.

Speed workouts are composed of three basic components: the length of the intervals, interval paces and recovery times. By varying the second two, the same nominal workout can serve many purposes. You can run 600s, for example, at anything from 5 to about 15 seconds per mile faster than 5K pace. The first is a VO2 max workout; the second combines that with strength (or "speed," depending on your preferred terminology).

Of course, the recovery time also needs to be adjusted. The VO2 max workout should have fairly short recoveries: perhaps 200m. The VO2 max/strength version requires longer ones – either 400s or very slow 200s.

And that's just the beginning. In a VO2 max workout, the time spent on recovery is generally between 50 percent and 100 percent of the time spent on the preceding interval. People vary, but in general, slower recoveries are for early season, faster ones for later. Simply by adjusting the recovery time, people can use the same workout for different stages of training.

Another trick is a device I call "float" recoveries. I'm not sure where I got the term, but the idea is simple. A float is a 100m pseudo-recovery in the middle of what would otherwise be a long interval. Examples are 600-600 pairs, 600-400-600 mile-repeat substitutes, or even 400-400 pairs or trios. Between sets, there's a longer, true recovery.

In theory, the floats are to be run quickly. "Imagine me behind you calling, 'Float, don't walk,'" I tell newcomers. How quickly to float depends on conditioning and goals.

FOR EXAMPLE:

A 20-minute 5K runner doing a VO2 max workout might take 37 to 40 seconds per 100m early in the season, 29 to 30 seconds later on.

Marathoners might zip through the floats with barely a break in stride, converting a 600-400-600 set into a tough 1800. People wanting long intervals can do the same. With a brisk float, a 400-400-400 trio functions a lot like a 1200 or even a 1400.

People wanting strength workouts can push the pace on each element, taking more time to recover on the floats.

Slower runners can also take deeper recoveries on the floats, reducing the impact of that 400-400-400 to something more like a 1,000.

Cross country runners can split the difference, pushing the pace a bit in each element and taking a mid-paced float, targeting the surge-and-recovery demands of their sport.

What's not possible is for the entire group to start each repeat together, as some speed groups like to do. The problem is that this gives slower runners the shortest recoveries, the opposite of what's usually needed. Instead, I have everyone start the first repeat as one big group. They then sort out into smaller groups as they discover during the workout who else is doing the same pace and recovery.

OTHER PRACTICALITIES FOR ANYONE TRYING TO RUN A SIMILAR PROGRAM:

Make sure all runners understand the system, so they can work it to their own needs. The floats, recoveries, sets, etc., are there so people can game the system for their own benefit, but it only works if they know how to do it.

Design workouts with multiple small segments that can be linked or broken apart as needed.

Include occasional longer recoveries, where training partners can reconnect. This is particularly important with workouts using floats, because those short recoveries will separate all but the best-matched training partners.

Keep the workouts fun and varied. As long as the interval/recovery ratio is kept within the right bounds, there's endless flexibility. Instead of 5 x 1,000, for example, try 3 x 1,000 followed by 3 x 600, shortening the recovery appropriately. Not only is this more interesting, but it allows some people to run the 600s fast, getting in a bit of strength training. Or try an exotic ladder: 1,000-900-800-700-600-500-400, all at 1,000m pace on ever-shortening recoveries.

When doing nontraditional distances, make sure the recoveries bring runners back to either the start or the 200m line between intervals (or sets). Otherwise people get confused.

Make sure everyone knows how to find the 100m marks on the track. I mark them with soccer cones. - Write the workout down on a sign or dry erase board, positioned near the start. Above all, experimentation is the key. Not everyone will love every workout, but occasionally you'll find something new that has most of them begging to do it again. That not only keeps the runners coming back, but it's rewarding to the coach, as well.

Richard A. Lovett is a senior writer for Running Times, and co-author of Alberto Salazar's Guide to Road Racing. His workouts are posted weekly at redlizardrunning.com/forums.